Blood Stained Fingertips
by Always a Bookworm
Summary: Ryou never meant to murder, Yuugi never meant to lie. In the end they were just as crazy as each other. "Is this what it comes down to, Yuugi? You and me. You and your delusions; me and my sick, twisted mind. Hasn't it always been that way?" AU, horror.


**Well... don't ask where this came from. I mean, Ryou as a total pyschopath? What happened to the days when I couldn't write anything but fluff? Anywhere, this weird little horror story wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, so here we are!**

**No pairings, just enjoy the Ryou-craziness! And it's AU, although you probably could have figured that out!**

**As always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, why would I be writing this? (Oh, and I don't own the definitions of the mental disorders either. They both come from wikipedia and pysch-net . com) Hope someone enjoys this! :D**

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Dissociative Identity Disorder- _defined as the occurrence of two or more personalities within the same individual, each of which during sometime in the person's life is able to take control._

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"Mummy… You think I'm crazy."

"Don't be silly, darling, nobody thinks that."

"Then why are you so scared?"

"… I'm not scared of you, love."

"But why did you call the doctors? Mummy, they're going to take me back to that place- I don't want to go there again!"

"Darling, it's okay… Don't worry. They can help you there, they _want_ to help you…_ I_ want to help you…"

"If you want to help me, then why won't you touch me?"

"Oh, my little boy… there, is that better?"

"Much. Thank you so much… so much for everything."

"Sweetie, if all you wanted was a hug you should have just said."

"But you don't always listen to me, do you Mummy?"

"…"

"Mummy?"

"…"

"W-why are you bleeding?"

"…"

"What have I done?"

* * *

It was all over the news, the tragic story of the boy that murdered his own mother. The body was found by a neighbour, one that heard the plaintive mewling of a cat trapped inside the house and, in the true nature of nosiness, went poking around.

And found the dead body of a woman, a cracked photograph of a schoolboy, and a scrawled, tearstained note pinned to her chest- _I'm sorry, Mummy. Love, your little boy._

Some who had known him wondered how such a lovely child who had always seemed so innocent could do such a horrific thing.

Some called for him to be locked up and never allowed to see the light of day again. (That 'some' included his father.)

Some shook their heads, muttered in hushed voices how 'terrible it all was', and moved on with their lives.

Everyone was scared for a time, forbidding their children to go out alone, listening eagerly to the news, a nation gripped in terror of that one little boy who had escaped the police so 'cleverly', slipping away into the night before anyone found out about the murder.

But in the end, everyone forgot the little boy with the white hair and the blood-stained fingertips.

* * *

Ten Years Later

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"Now class, I want you to give a warm welcome to our new transfer student: Ryou Bakura!"

The shy, foreign boy stands at the front of the room, staring out across the sea of unfamiliar, bored faces and smiles a tentative smile.

And one boy, a boy whose smile shone out from among that sea of faces, smiles back.

"Hi! I'm Yuugi!"

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_Schizophrenia- __characterised by abnormalities of the perception or expression of reality. Can manifest as hallucinations and paranoid or bizarre delusions._

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Yuugi patters down the stairs, swinging around the banister, his heavy golden pendant clutched tight in his hands. "Bye Grandpa! I'll see you later!"

Outside the door he runs straight into one of his best friends. "Oh, hey there Anzu. Thanks for waiting!"

She smiles softly at him, and the pair set off down the road together.

After a couple of minutes, Anzu turns to him and says gently, "Yuugi, I have to ask you something… You know that duel the other day, the one with Kaiba?"

Yuugi nods, confused at her sudden serious tone. "Yeah, what about it?"

Anzu bites her lip, almost as if she's unsure of what she's talking about. "It's just... I was wondering what happened to you. During that duel, I mean. I know it sounds stupid, but Yuugi… you _changed_."

Yuugi stares up at her, and for a split second Anzu thinks she sees something flash across his face. But then he's her friend again, her good, sweet, _best _friend, hands clasped tightly around that pendant of his.

"I don't know what you mean, Anzu. Nothing happened. We just duelled."

She nods, and they walk on.

She doesn't mention it again.

* * *

"Guys… I need to tell you something." Jou and Honda look up from their mock-fight, Anzu sets down her drink, and Ryou sits quietly in the corner.

Yuugi stares, worried at his feet. "I know you've seen what happens when I duel. I know you've seen the proof- that I change." He flashes a brief smile at Anzu, who nods back encouragingly. "It started… when I got this," he indicates the Puzzle around his neck. "It's an Ancient Egyptian artefact-"

His voice becomes animated, and his eyes sparkle as he explains the whole story, of the Pharaoh's spirit living inside his puzzle, the friend who helps him when he needs it.

To the three of his friends, the ones who trust in him completely, this makes perfect sense.

Yuugi wouldn't lie to them.

In a way, this isn't really a surprise, so they all nod along and agree.

They believe him.

Except Ryou, who sits quietly in the corner and watches them all with a half-smile and hooded eyes.

(At that moment, he doesn't look like himself.)

* * *

Jou is the first one to notice that Ryou's actions don't quite ring true.

It is on the Battle City blimp, and they are surrounded by friends and enemies. They are fighting to stop Malik, a crazed psychopath, from stealing their souls.

(At least, that's what they think. Hell, even Malik thinks that's what they're doing. Only Ryou understands.)

"I don't trust that guy, Yuugi," Jou frowns, as he watches the white-haired boy help himself to more food.

"Don't worry, Jou," Yuugi smiles (ever innocent, ever happy). "He's our friend."

But after the duels between The Other Yuugi and The Other Bakura, everything about Ryou's odd behaviour is written off. The group are content- they understand now, he's just like Yuugi! Except that his 'spirit' is evil, not good. Ryou is someone to be pitied, not feared.

Ryou can't help but wish this was true.

* * *

Time has passed.

The group of friends have happily welcomed new troops to their ranks; Mai, Seto, and the Ishtars.

Ryou is still waiting. He doesn't know what's holding him back.

It's the night before they are all going to Egypt. They're going to put the Pharaoh to rest, Yuugi's sure of it. They're all excited.

"Hello, Yuugi," the voice echoes through the dark.

Yuugi wakes with a start, a cold shiver running down his spine. "B-Bakura?"

Ryou sits at the end of his bed, a smile full of pointed teeth painted across his face. "Please. Call me Ryou."

"B-Ryou, what are you doing here?" Yuugi sits up, rubbing at his eyes. "It's one o'clock in the morning!"

"I just had to talk. You're my friend, aren't you," his voice suddenly changes into a tone of vulnerability, and Yuugi takes his hand and squeezes it fiercely.

"Yes, of course I am! Is there something you wanted to talk about? Is it the Spirit- has he come back?"

Ryou suddenly throws back his head a laughs a deep, dark chuckle, his mood switching once again.

"Oh, Yuugi, Yuugi, when will you learn?"

Yuugi is confused.

"That's not the reason I came here, little Yuugi. I wanted to tell you a story."

Ryou's eyes gleam in the darkness, and Yuugi once again feels scared.

"I wanted to tell you about a boy that was so desperate for friends, he invented his own. And this 'imaginary friend' became realer and realer to this little boy, until he was convinced that it was all true. He became so convinced that he started to see the friend, to hear the friend. And he forgot that it had all been a lie, and he gave the friend a name and a history. He made him _real_."

Yuugi pulls his knees up to his chest, and clench his hands in the sheets. "Ryou, what are you talking about? You're not making sense!" He starts to sound panicked.

Ryou continues regardless, his voice a malevolent undertone. "This boy started to twist reality to his own wishes. He found friends, and managed to convince them that he wasn't crazy; the naïve, trusting fools that they are. His Grandpa is hit by a car and goes into a coma- the boy says that his soul has been stolen, and uses it as an excuse to enter a gaming tournament."

Yuugi stares at Ryou, wide-eyed and fearful. "You're wrong," he whispers. "Grandpa's soul… It was taken by Pegasus. I saw it!"

Ryou shakes his head, mock-sympathetically. "The boy hallucinates. And when another tournament rolls around, this one involving a serial killer that has an impressive grasp on the art of hypnosis, the boy convinces himself it is even more of the Ancient Magic, and has to help everyone involved."

Yuugi interrupts. "It wasn't hypnosis- it was mind control! And the Ishtars, they told me the Pharaoh exists! How do you explain that?"

Ryou suddenly sounds sad, and slightly unsure. "The Ishtar siblings were severely abused as children. They belong to a cult, and it twisted their own reality. Yuugi, they've been waiting for a saviour all their lives. You said you were him- they believed you. They _all_ believed you, every one of your friends."

Yuugi closes his eyes as tears begin to trickle down his cheeks. Ryou is wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong… but why does it all sound so right?

"And what about you?" he asks eventually, a whisper broken up by silent sobs. "How do you explain your 'Spirit'. And how can you be the only one to figure it out?"

Ryou smiles again, but it's not the smile Yuugi's used to. "Oh, that's easy," he breathes, leaning forward until his lips are brushing against Yuugi's ear. "I'm just as crazy as you."

Yuugi jerks away, terrified, and Ryou retreats immediately to the end of the bed, brown eyes huge with shock and sadness. He's changed again.

"Is this what it comes down to then, Yuugi? You and me. That's all it ever was- our others, they never existed. Can't you see that? It was only ever us. Never anyone else. Just you and your desperate delusions. Just me and my sick, twisted mind."

"But- but there _are_ two of you!" Yuugi insists, clutching at one last straw to save his dream world. "I've seen you both!"

Ryou smiles a tentative smile. "Yes. There are two of me. But we're the same person, Yuugi. We always have been."

Yuugi stares down at his hands. "I don't know who you are."

Ryou merely replies, "Ryou Bakura." And once again he is the little boy with the white-hair and the blood-stained fingertips.

Yuugi doesn't even get a chance to scream.

* * *

Yuugi's friends are heartbroken.

But after the funeral is over, after the tears have run out, after the sensation of the child killer striking again has died down, they each start to question that year they spent together.

After time, they all find it hard to believe in the Pharaoh and the Thief.

But they never truly understand the boy that hallucinated, the boy that created his own perfect world around him, the boy that believed his own delusions until the very end.

And they will never understand the boy that fought against himself, against the darkness in his own mind.

They will never understand the little boy with the white hair and the blood-stained fingertips.

* * *

_The woman walks out of the room, rubbing a hand across her forehead wearily as the guards lock the door securely behind her. Her colleague looks up from the recording equipment sympathetically._

"_What did he say this time?" he asks, patting the seat beside him, and the woman sits down with a sigh._

"_Just the usual. Rambling on about his past, a lot of stuff about the boy he killed- Yuugi. The story about a Pharaoh. I'm sure you got it all on tape."_

_The man nods, and the pair of doctors peer at the grainy picture on the CCTV screen of the boy sitting in the padded room all by himself._

"_Hard to believe he killed those people," the woman says, reflectively. "His mother and his best friend. He looks so innocent."_

_The man nods again vaguely, and he presses a button on the machine to ensure that it has worked correctly._

_The voice of a teenager mimicking a little boy floats out of the speakers: "Mummy… You think I'm crazy." The man nods once and flicks a switch dismissively, shutting down the machine._

"_Come on, let's go have lunch. If he's just going to spout the same story every time I honestly don't know why we bother."_

_The woman shrugs. "I guess we owe it to him to listen."_

_The man shakes his head, angrily. "We owe nothing to a murderer."_

_The woman smiles, a sad, reminiscent smile. "No. But we owe it to the boy that shares that murderer's body."_

_The man grunts, and stands up. "Let's just go. Anzu, you're a great psychiatrist, but that one's beyond your help."_

_Anzu nods, and whispers to the screen, to the broken shell of her old friend, "Bye, Ryou. I'll be back tomorrow."_

_Ryou sits in the cell and laughs. _

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**Yeah, I still don't know where that came from. Did it make any sense? Basically, Yuugi totally invented the whole idea of there being a Pharaoh and twisted real events into a relatively believeable lie. Hopefully you got that Ryou had DID and Yuugi had schizophrenia? Well, if you didn't sorry I wasn't clear... *sweatdrop* I like leaving things up to the reader to figure out, it's more fun that way!**

**Well, that was a successfully distracting couple of hours. Now I'd better get back to revision before my parents confiscate my laptop! **

**See you! :D**

**Bookworm**


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